Kelly Czarnecki describes herself as a leader by nature. And though she has worked for everything she has, she'll also be the first tell you that "she gets what she wants and does what she wants." Don't be fooled by her girl-next-door looks Czarnecki is a mid-western spitfire who loves the outdoors. Called adventurous and ambitious by her friends, this one-time cheerleader always finishes what she starts because to her there's always a reward at the end.

Hailing from Buffalo Grove, Ill., Kelly has three brothers who have helped make her both physically and mentally tough. In her free time, Czarnecki loves to camp, hike and canoe. She describes herself as an energetic strong minded achiever for which self-confidence is not a issue. This fashionista can be found at the gym at least five times a week and is skilled in kickboxing, yoga and Pilates. Although most of Kelly's time is spent focusing on her career goals, she is a self-proclaimed "denim expert," and hopes to one day open her own clothing store.

Aside from studying fashion marketing at the Illinois Institute of Art, Kelly is also the sales manager at one of the top retail boutiques in Chicago. Czarnecki claims "she is a hell of a salesperson and can talk anyone into anything," although she also wants them to feel good about their purchase. She believes it is those leadership skills she's received from her job and schooling that has prepared her for SURVIVOR.

Kelly resides in Buffalo Grove, Ill. and her birth date is April 4, 1986.

Kelly Czarnecki, the 22-year-old jean salesperson and student from Chicago, was recruited for Survivor Gabon via her MySpace page and even more unsurprisingly but still shockingly, revealed that “my page was private so they only saw my picture.” Yes, casting producers contacted her based upon a single photograph, which may explain why it was so difficult to have a conversation with her.

Kelly ranks at the bottom of my likability list because she was so extremely inaccessible and difficult to talk to—especially after my three pleasant, interesting conversations with Danny/GC Brown, Bob Crowley, and Susie Smith. Kelly never took off her oversized, Paris Hilton sunglasses, and I became increasingly convinced that she was utterly bored and staring at the ground. I laughed nervously throughout the whole interview after she’d make some kind of outrageous or nonsensical declarative statement that I had no response to. There was a lot of dead air as she’d just be done with a question even though she hadn’t even started to really answer it; sometimes she’d just say single words as answers.

Kelly sells jeans and says she’s “one of the top salespeople at my work,” E Street Denim in Chicago, and said she is “consistently exceeding sales; I manipulate people instead of buying the $40 jean to like the $400 jean.” That skill didn’t exactly come across in our interview, but maybe it’ll work for her in the game.

She seemed very impressed with herself and over-confident, but ultimately came across more like a Big Brother contestant, especially considering the way she’d say things that made no actual sense, like “I’m not going to be an act,” “my nature to compete,” “I’ve always been into jeans … and my middle name is jean so that may have something to do with it,” and “I need to be different personalities.” And can’t you just hear a houseguest saying this? “Some of the guys, I think, are really cute. This one guy looks like Nick Lachey. Yeah. The guys are cute. And I like the girl—the Spanish girl, the Mexican older lady. She’s cool. The other woman looks mean,” Kelly told me.

Kelly’s role model in the game is “Poverty” (Parvati, the winner of Survivor Micronesia) and plans to “get all the guys on my side,” and told me she couldn’t think of a single thing that would challenge her in the game.

That said, she did have sympathetic moments, and I kind of felt sorry for her. Talking about her three brothers, she said they “raised me” because “I’ve always looked up to them. It was hard being the girl in the family because, like, oh, hey, I didn’t win any awards, I’m just like this blonde, pretty girl. They made me toughen up and go for something that I want. … No crying, no nothing.”

Listen to Kelly talk about her strategy, confidence, and game play—and hear a lot of the birds and sounds of Gabon during those long pauses.

Do you regret dropping out of the reward challenge when you were at the front of the snake?Kelly: They put a 90-pound girl in the front of a 200-pound snake. They gave me the heaviest part of that snake. I didn't want to drop out early. I was running and running and running and Crystal was telling me not to quit. But then she quit. I tried as hard as I could and they thought that they could do it without me, so I dropped out.

Did you like your Fang tribe or your original Kota tribe better?Kelly: I liked the Kota tribe's attitude better. They were more positive and optimistic, like me. So, I liked the Kota teamwork. But when I went to Fang, oh my god, it went downhill from there. Their attitudes sucked. There was no teamwork with them. But I did get along better with the Fang people.

Do you think Crystal should have gone home instead?Kelly: Definitely. I voted for her because she has no stamina. She doesn't really stick up for herself but when she gets to tribal, I don't know if that's the real Crystal, but she just turns into a beast. She acts like a totally different person. During the day at camp she never really says anything.

Is Ace responsible for Fang losing the immunity challenge?Kelly: I 100 percent believe that Ace is responsible for us losing the immunity challenge. He's the one that coupled all the people up. He put me with Sugar. At the end we were beating Kota but Ace insisted on putting the puzzle together all by himself. It sucks that he lost it for us.

Did you know Ace was plotting to vote you out?Kelly: Ace and I hated each other the entire game. It's because I voted him off that one time and I'd always say negative things about him. I mean who is he with his Cartier bracelet trying to play a game of Survivor for $1 million? Clearly he didn't need that money. Plus, he was just acting like a fool. He knew I was trying to vote him out so he did whatever he could to save his own butt. And that's exactly what he did.

Things became heated at tribal council between you and Crystal. What was going on?Kelly: Oh my god, tribal was so intense. I couldn't even believe it. Crystal is a beast. Her attitude comes out of nowhere when she's in front of Jeff Probst. She acts like a tough girl, but inside she's really soft and weak. I think she's unstable, like I said last night. She's an Olympic athlete but I just don't see it. And I definitely tried to stick up for myself at tribal council, but it didn't work out.

Who do you think deserves to win?Kelly: I really want Kenny to win. He has a good heart and he's playing the game right. I just wish he were more of a leader than a follower. He needs to stick up for himself and not listen to Crystal. It's sad because she can't pick on anyone else so she's taking it out on him.

The eighteen days that Kelly Czarnecki, a 22-year-old retail salesperson from Buffalo Grove, IL, spent in Gabon were hardly the stuff that dreams are made of. In fact, after losing her ally early in the competition, being voted the least useful in her tribe, and then being switched to the "cursed" Fang tribe along with tribemates she did not like, her stay was downright tough.

However, after barely staving off elimination in the earlier rounds, circumstances finally caught up with Kelly as she became the fifth member of to be eliminated during the competition during Thursday's broadcast of Survivor: Gabon on CBS.

On Friday, Kelly talked with Reality TV World about how why she never secured a solid alliance in either tribe, what is really wrong with the Fang tribe, and what was said at Tribal Council that didn't make it on the air.

Reality TV World: At the Tribal Council last night you seemed to not hold much back when speaking about your tribe mates. Did you go into that Tribal Council already knowing you were going home?

Kelly: I definitely had an idea that I was going home, and I was being myself and speaking my mind. I always speak my mind.

Reality TV World: What had led you to think that you were going home? Did someone tell you? Or had no one talked to you?

Kelly: It was that day. Nobody talks to you, they're all just staring at you. It's like "You guys it's so obvious!" Somebody get some confidence and just walk up to me just say "Hey what's going on?" and just let me know that I'm going home because I kinda know!

Reality TV World: Why did you vote for [Crystal Cox] -- was that just a throw-away vote out of frustration about her Tribal Council comments or had something led you to believe she might be the one going home?

Kelly: I knew I was going home and I knew she was gonna vote for me. And just [how she acted in Tribal Council] it's like... You're a grown woman! You know that you can come up to me and talk to me, don't make assumptions. Don't think that I called you weak when I didn't, I'm in your alliance I'm here to further you. Don't listen to [Ace Gordon], who's just trying to get further in the game.

Reality TV World: Ok, and going off of that, When Ace denied he'd been critical of Crystal you said that he was talking in "doublespeak" but didn't really seem to push him too much [based on what was shown on last night's broadcast]. Was there more to your response?

Kelly: Yeah there was definitely more to that because I called him out on it and Crystal had something to say to that, so everyone was like "Oh what is this?"

So I left with saying the truth and I left with [letting] out a secret about Ace and what he really said about Crystal and [that] I wasn't the one that said it! He was the one that said everything.

He was just lying about me because he knew that I wanted to vote him out next, and he knew that I had a good alliance with all of them. So he did whatever he could to save his own self.

Reality TV World: Were you aware that Crystal had been campaigning to send Ace home instead of you before you went to Tribal Council?

Kelly: Yeah, we were trying to get Ace off in the beginning, like before [Jacque Berg].

Reality TV World: In your post elimination interview you said that Crystal "doesn't even have the power to push a team when sheâ€™s the one quitting half the challenges." I guess that leads to the question of what is your opinion of her?

Kelly: It was just interesting to learn after the show that she was an Olympic gold medalist. In the game she didn't -- and maybe it's because she wasn't eating enough or whatever -- she didn't really show much athletic ability. [Also] as an athlete you want to be stable, you need to know that you're going to lose sometimes and you're going to win sometimes. [You also] need to build your stamina. I don't know you just need to be a better athlete and it didn't really show in anything, especially the canoe challenge [when] she was just going around in circles!

Reality TV World: Did nobody [on the show] know she was an Olympic athlete? Or maybe anything else besides an school teacher?

Kelly: (Laughs) Nobody knew she was an Olympic gold medalist besides [Gillian Larson], who might have known. She did tell us that she played basketball.

Reality TV World: Personality wise it didn't seem like you two got along too well either. Is that accurate?

Kelly: Well no because we did get along pretty well. It just happened to be at the end of the episode we didn't get along.

Reality TV World: After the Reward Challenge, you went for a walk with Ace where he said Crystal was going down the same route as [Danny "G.C." Brown] -- did you agree with that or were you just nodding along with him?

Kelly: I didn't really agree with him (pauses) Actually I was nodding along with him and just going with what he was saying. I wasn't even really listening to what he was saying, I was kind of just like "What is Ace doing? Why is he walking with me? Why does he want to go to the jungle with me?"

And that's how I knew he was playing a trick because he wanted to talk about Crystal and as soon as you know it, Crystal is right behind me in the jungle! I was like "Yeah, here we go."

Reality TV World: Yeah, that was my next question. Did she tell you anything else other than what was shown on the show?

Kelly: All she said was "Don't take my tears as a sign of weakness." I was like "Please... Like, why do you cry otherwise?" and she's like "When I'm depressed it comes out of my eyes." Like, Okay what does that even mean.

So everything was said just like that. She's more about being quiet about everything and not up front.

Reality TV World: Going back to the Tribal Council, after Ace denied he had said anything, were you able to really make it clear and hammer down the point that he had been saying those things about Crystal?

Kelly: Yeah I definitely hammered it down and people definitely took charge of that and listened to it because Ace is conniving. He's lying. He's just trying to further himself in the game, and good for him because it's working in a sense.

But after I left, and I said the things I needed to say, I think people really listened and knew that I was being honest and had been honest the entire game.

Reality TV World: Right after that, Ace kind of called you stupid and made a little snide comment. What was your reaction to that? Had that been some type of stereotype against you?

Kelly: Ace just always tries to make everybody feel stupid in any which way because it's his way or no way. He's a condescending and arrogant person, and I'm sorry I have to say that but in the game that was Ace! That was furthering him because it makes people think "Maybe she is stupid. Blah, blah, blah."

I know I'm not stupid so it doesn't really matter. I definitely said a lot more things to him to make him feel dumb because he didn't know what to say after I would say something. And of course I don't know what he's saying half of the time because his accent is so foolish!

Reality TV World: Did you think his accent was put on or not?

Kelly: (Laughs) It was funny because Ace said that he only lived in the UK for about a few years and that his sister had an American accent. Sometimes it would sound like it would go on and off and it would be more intense sometimes. It was like "What is this guy doing!?"

Reality TV World: On both Kota and Fang it seemed that people didn't seem to get along with you at points and had a low opinion of you. Why do you think that was the case?

Kelly: On Kota I didn't think that they didn't like me, I just kept to myself and was watching everybody and do their own thing. They were all so uptight and had no sense of humor! I wanna smile and laugh and enjoy Africa at the same time and I wanna have a good time with you guys while playing this game but (pauses) I don't know.

Reality TV World: When you were going into the Tribal Council when you were eliminated, were you aware that [Matty Whitmore] had formed an alliance with Ace?

Kelly: No, I had no idea that Matty had formed an alliance with Ace but I did see [Matty] with Ace a few times. But I would never swear on my mother's life and his girlfriend's life. Like, this is a game for $1 million and they're not being serious. So that was dumb of Matty, but Matty's a cool guy.

Reality TV World: Modesty doesn't seem to be a big part of Ace's personality. Were you surprised to see him admit that deserved much of the blame for Fang's Immunity Challenge loss?

Kelly: Yeah, but it took him like five minutes to realize that in Tribal Council. He was going back and forth defending himself and then realizing that he really was the one that made us lose that Immunity Challenge.

Reality TV World: On last week's episode, even though G.C. was talking about feeling he was done, Crystal, Matty, [Ken "Kenny" Hoang] and yourself seemed to have decided to try and blindside [Jessica "Sugar" Kiper] at Tribal Council. However you guys ended up voting for G.C. -- what led to you guys making that decision?

Kelly: We talked about the Sugar and G.C. thing for so long too... The thing is, G.C. (pauses) he didn't have his head in the game. He would just get angry for no reason. Someone wouldn't call him his name and he'd be like "'C'mon that's not my name" and "Shut up, you don't tell me what to do!"

It's like, please we're playing a game. But he was bringing the team down and he really just wanted to lose every game! Right when we woke up before we were going to a challenge he would be like "Okay so who are we gonna vote out?" and trying to say "Kelly you know you wanna go home." It's like, "No I don't!"

He was just bringing down the team and we really didn't need that. We needed to win those challenges, so peace out G.C.

Reality TV World: With Crystal, Kenny, Matty and yourself had enough votes to boot Sugar without G.C. Why didn't you guys just vote for her anyways and then just let G.C. quit the game on his own if he wanted?

Kelly: (pauses) I'm so mad that G.C. quit too! (pauses again) Well my guess is... and I really wanted to vote Sugar out because it would have been the perfect time to blindside her. She knew G.C. wanted to quit. (pauses) If G.C. quit before we had gone to Tribal Council than I for sure would have voted for Sugar.

Reality TV World: But that wasn't something any of you really had in mind going into Tribal Council?

Kelly: No, I don't think so.

Reality TV World: What was your overall opinion of Sugar?

Kelly: Um, Sugar... (laughs) She's a character. In the game I don't know what she was trying to do. She was just like kind of all over the place and always trying to be like "Kelly don't do that" and I'd be like "Don't tell me what to do" and [she'd be] like "Yeah. I wouldn't want someone telling me what to do!"

So, Sugar was... (pause) Sugar. A crybaby. (whisper)

Reality TV World: Had Kenny told you that he'd approached her about voting Ace off and she'd told him she'd given Ace the idol?

Kelly: No, Kenny didn't tell us that at all.

Reality TV World: Before the tribes got re-picked, you guys had that ranking where you ended up being ranked the least important member of Kota. How did you feel about that?

Kelly: You know what, that was interesting! I knew that I was going to either be voted off or something was gonna happen so it wasn't a surprise to me. I lost [Paloma Soto-Castillo] and I bashed Ace in that Tribal Council.

It was definitely weird being picked last because I'm never usually picked last and I'm usually liked by everybody, so it was interesting. But I got over it.

Reality TV World: Did you think someone else deserved the spot more?

Kelly: Oh, for sure. Sugar. She wasn't good at any of the challenges.

Reality TV World: Once you got to Fang, you admitted you'd felt like the outsider at Kota. Why do you think you failed to be able to form any lasting alliances at either tribe?

Kelly: I don't know. Maybe because I was quiet and didn't really approach anybody. Ace approached me in the beginning, but I just saw right through it.

I was with Paloma and our whole thing was that we would take it as we go, and [our tribe] was on our honeymoon for so long and we were winning every challenge so we didn't even really think about it until that day. I didn't even know that Jacque, [Marcus Lehman], [Corrine Kaplan], and [Charlie Herschel] were in an alliance.

Reality TV World: Because you came from Kota, do you have any theories as to why the Fang tribe was in such disarray?

Kelly: (laughs) I have no idea! (pauses) You know what, actually I take that back. They just had no teamwork and something was missing there, like the positive vibe. Nobody was positive. I felt like when I went in there I was like "Okay here comes a burst of sunshine. Let's get this team going. Let's be happy, we're gonna win these challenges." [But then] in the morning they would just wait for the challenges to come and no one would talk about anything. I was like "Great..."

Reality TV World: Is the depiction of Fang on the show accurate? Are they really that unorganized?

Kelly: Yeah, the Fang tribe is definitely cursed and it's definitely a mess. Like, get those original Fang members out of there! They obviously are the ones who are making it bad.

Reality TV World: At one point last night you said you were "withering away." How much weight did you lose on the show?

Kelly: I lost 15 pounds

Reality TV World: Wow.

Kelly: Yeah. It was because we only started eating one meal a day. So yeah I definitely lost a lot of weight. It was gross.

Reality TV World: What surprised you the most about Survivor?

Kelly: What surprised me most was actually everything that it does to you emotionally, physically and mentally. The things that you go through definitely surprised me. It's definitely tougher than you think [when you are] just watching it on TV.

Reality TV World: Once you were eliminated, who did you want to see win?

Kelly: Um... I wanna see Kenny win!

Reality TV World: Any reason?

Kelly: Because his whole heart is in the game and he's trying really hard. He's playing a good game.

Last time on Survivor Kota continued to dominate Fang and Ace forged a strong alliance with Kenny, Matty and Sugar. And, oh yeah, he smooth-talked Sugar into giving him the Immunity Idol. Since Day One Ace seemed to have it in for Kelly Czarnecki, a perky, athletic 22-year old "denim expert" from The Windy City. When the tribes got reshuffled Kelly dodged a bullet. Sshe was next on Ace's hit list, but the split bought her some time.

Still, Ace finally got his wish when Kelly was the sixth victim to fall at Tribal Council. We caught up with this lively young lady the day after and asked about "the Fang Curse." She did nothing to dispel the notion:

FC: Hi Kelly. How are you?KC: I'm doing fine, thanks.

FC: Obviously it's been awhile for you since being voted off Survivor, but for us it was only last night.KC: Right! Sad right, didn't you wanna see me stay?

FC: I did. I was surprised that you got voted out. I really thought Crystal was the target.KC: Yeah she should have left. But it's OK.

FC: And she has this unusual strategy of surrounding herself with weakness.KC: Right, I don't get it. She's the one who is the weakest. Hopefully she wakes up.

FC: Are you home now? What are you doing these days?KC: I am home. Right now I'm working and getting into new things. I really like fitness and nutrition a lot and I can definitely see myself doing something with that.

FC: Has Survivor helped you open some new doors?KC: I hope so. I hope people can see through me on Survivor and the way they've been portraying me, because there's a lot more to me than the little pieces they've been showing.

FC: Well, they're famous for that. You must've known that before you signed on, right?KC: Oh yeah. I don't mind about my edit. I think it's funny because in a way it shows a good side of me. I am goofy and at times I say silly things.

FC: You've had a lot of face time since the beginning. You and Ace were battling there since the start.KC: Yeah we're like brother and sister... from a different world.

FC: And in the shuffle, when you got picked to crossover to Fang, that was an advantage for you wasn't it?KC: Totally. That saved me. In the morning after Paloma left I thought "What am I gonna do now?" I thought, "I need a miracle." I already bashed Ace in Tribal Council and at the challenge I was voted least valuable. I know I'm not that, but the tribe saw that so I was like "Okay. See you. I'm going on Fang now, and I'm gonna dominate."

FC: Yeah, you were quite prominent, that's why I was thinking you'd be sticking around a bit longer.KC: Well maybe I just made a good character.

FC: And then there was the controversy over how you seemed to say Crystal was weak by crying.KC: That wasn't my point at all. Ace got to her saying "Kelly thought you were weak" and I never thought that. She was just making an assumption. I was with her the whole game so I wish she could've seen through that.

FC: But your point was more that she looked weak in front of Kota.KC: Yeah and exposing herself in front of their team. This is why Fang sucks. This is why we're not winning any challenges. Nobody is happy and nobody is positive. We've got to go into this game like "We're gonna win."

FC: And Jeff Probst kept pointing that out, with no team play there.KC: Right, there was no team play. I come from a family where I've been in sports my whole life and taught to have teamwork and communicate. That's what they needed to do. They needed to communicate. The only time they communicated was at Tribal Council and that's bad.

FC: So what started out as an advantage for you caused you to succumb to the "Curse" as Matty puts it.KC: Right, the curse. THE FANG CURSE...

FC: And which you agreed to at the end.KC: They are cursed, and you know the fact that I was on the losing team, you know, you can't win all the time.

FC: Well you dodged a couple of bullets, but last night you ended up being in the crosshairs.KC: I know. They seem to do that to me a lot, don't they? I definitely wish they'd shown more of my athletic ability, I've been an athlete my whole life. They should've shown more of me dominating everything. That's OK though, it doesn't bother me. It's fun to watch. I think it's silly, it's TV so they have to make good TV. Obviously they're making good TV because everybody's talking about it. At elast, they were thinking about me, you know?

FC: That's a fantastic attitude. That's the right approach. I'm glad to hear that from you.KC: Yeah.

FC: So what's your Survivor story. How did you get involved?KC: Well let's see. They found me on MySpace. But I still had to try out for everything, I still had to audition.

FC: Wow! I don't think I've heard that one yet. KC: MySpace does wonders, you should join!

FC: I'll do that. On your CBS Bio it list you as a "denim expert." What's that?KC: Denim expert. I don't know, I've always liked jeans and I work for a retail outlet that is the biggest seller of jeans in the world. Whenever I've gone shopping I always bought jeans. My Mom says I always dressed myself, but I just know what looks good and I like to make people feel better about themselves.

FC: Well what would you suggest? KC: Well, you know, jeans and a T-shirt.

FC: That's good advice. I'll be taking you up on that. Do you have a prediction for a winner?KC: I hope Kenny wins. Because he's playing a good game and he impressed me. He may have said mean things against me but it's OK because I know Kenny loves me. He was just being a follower, listening to everybody else.

FC: Well he did save you when he picked you for Fang.KC: He did save me.

FC: And he's a good strategist too.KC: Yeah he's good at strategy. He's a gamer so those people are super smart. He definitely always thinks deep.

FC: But he has these moments where he just stops all of a sudden. Did you notice that?KC: Yeah, because he was so weak. He was putting in his all and then he just stopped. I remember Matty was dragging him and we were all yelling "C'mon Kenny!" and he snapped out of it.

FC: That last challenge was grueling, crawling under that cargo net. What was that like?KC: That was so fun! I liked that challenge! But the flagpoles we had to hold were like 80 pounds and I was having trouble carrying them. They filled up with sand and that made them so heavy.

FC: They were that heavy?KC: 80 pounds? That's like half of me... that's more than me! At the end I was like 90 pounds.

FC: So you went on the Survivor diet.KC: That's right! The Survivor diet. Don't try it!

FC: Well it's been great talking with you. Good luck in the future. We hope to see you again and we'll be watching on Fancast!KC: Thank you!

Having recently returned from filming the seventeenth season of SURVIVOR, Kelly Czarnecki is casually dressed in a t-shirt and skin-fitted jeans. With her long blonde hair pulled back and her face made up, she is ready for whatever is coming next. Survivor’s revisit to Africa this summer landed the players in Gabon - “Last Garden of Eden.” Already, reputations are being forged and the rumors and leaks are flowing.

She’s the girl who may be this year’s hottie, dumb blond, or, in her mind even worse, cheerleader, of the hit television reality show. She may even be voted the girl you love to hate. But Kelly is gearing up to embrace these monikers.

It’s actually a 21st-century fairy tale. But instead of the hometown-girl-gets-discovered-at-a-corner-soda-shop-and-sent-off-to-model-the-runways-of-Paris-and-Milan scenario, Kelly is a 22-year-old college student from Buffalo Grove whose MySpace photo was discovered by a show researcher. After a battery of interviews and periods of solitary confinement, she is whisked off to battle the elements of Africa and her 17 fellow contestants.

Kelly described to Edgge how it all started. “Saturday, on my (22nd) birthday weekend, I was looking at my horoscope, which said ‘The entertainment business is high. Take a risk’. On Monday, a woman contacted me through email and said I have a good look for the show; if I am interested to give her a call. I, like, didn’t believe she was for real at first, but my brother told me I should just go for it.”

And so she did.

She put together an on-the-spot video audition, filled out a lengthy application and sent them both off to Los Angeles. After obtaining the initial nod from CBS and unable to tell anyone other than her boss and her parents, she flew out to California on the network’s dime. She interviewed for several days - watching as hundreds of other applicants got tossed out and sent home. She was to have no communications with the other hopefuls. When they were finished, with no knowledge of where she stood in the process, they flew her back home to wait.

Two weeks later, the agent called Kelly at her workplace to congratulate her. “I couldn’t tell anyone at the store. I worked all day and didn’t tell a soul. I can keep a secret!” She didn’t need to for long as she soon found herself on a plane with other aspirants flying to Paris. “We couldn’t talk to one another, but we recognized each other. All we could do was visually size each other up and think about what was to come.” They quietly hooked up with other contestants in France and flew on to Gabon.

They had been instructed to pack what they like, but were restricted at some point as to what they could actually bring. Each contestant chose three luxury items, from which the producers allowed one. Kelly’s item – her glow-in-the-dark body paint – made the cut.

Anything that happened to Kelly from this point until her return to the suburban comforts of Buffalo Grove is covered under a restrictive contract. She cannot say a word of what went on the two months she spent in Africa for fear of a lawsuit.

After reading Jeff Probst’s (the show’s host) take on her as “being from the Text Message Generation, and she speaks that way, she'll say, ‘OMG’ for ‘Oh, my God’.” I was already rolling my eyes. I was expecting to meet some vacuous bimbo - sentences heavily loaded with “JK’s” and “LOL’s”. However, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised to see this Survivor candidate was just as sweet and courteous as the crimson-cloaked girl who set off to bring Granny her basket of goodies. She made it clear that there was no diva here and that she was willing to get to work.Kelly comes from a fairly testosterone run family. Daughter of a Hoffman Estates fire fighter, she has three brothers who, she claims, helped raise her. “My parents weren’t very good at raising girls – so they said yes to me all the time.” While she was “daddy’s girl”, her brothers took it upon themselves to put her in her place. They were quick to teach her how to be independent and pull her own weight. She credits her mother completely for her work ethic. It’s a culmination of these skills that she claims prepared her for Survivor.

But Gabon, Africa is no Buffalo Grove – big brothers or not.

And sometimes cyber gossip can be crueler than wild animals.We asked Kelly if she is strong enough to endure the endless blogs and websites that may pigeon-hole her into that dumb-blond role. Her reply was “Absolutely. Bring it on!” Kelly is confident that she is strong and has a true sense of self. She is well aware that the editing floor is a slippery one. Being definitely okay with the “hot” label, Kelly takes serious umbrage to the cheerleader shot. She strongly declares that she was a cheerleader for only one year, while for eight she was an avid softball player and active in many other sports through the park district. She understands Survivor is a reality game show and to play the game sometimes you have to play a part. Manipulation is a critical element of this game for the contestants and producers, and reality is not always portrayed in a show.

However, after spending some time with Kelly, I find her alarmingly vulnerable and naïve. She clearly wants to make a good impression. As we are meeting before the first episode airs, I warn her that this is the proverbial calm before the storm. Though she is truly convinced she has an invincible support system and she believes she is a force to be reckoned with, her soft eyes and that determined-to-be-strong attitude betray her. She seems to be trying to convince herself more than anyone. She tries to talk a tough talk. But truthfully, her walk is pretty gentle.

Bottom line about Kelly Czarnecki is that you end up wanting to take care of her. She seems so sweet and innocent. She envisions herself opening up a denim boutique with her mom. Yet, with this recent brush with fame, those “other” opportunities may present themselves. She would consider doing a photo shoot for Maxim or a fitness magazine, though she adamantly refuses that she would bare all. Still, when pressed if she would answer Hugh Hefner’s call – she smiles with a little tortured, half-longing, half-absolutely-NOT look and coyly says, “Maybe…”

Perhaps she does know how to play this game.

For someone who has never seen an entire season of SURVIVOR, Kelly certainly took on a challenge. Not knowing the ins and outs of such terms as “alliance”, “immunity idol” and “Exile Island” may have been a disadvantage – or it may have given her the benefit of being innocent of what to fear. Regardless, Kelly took the dare and made it hers. If the camera only catches her when she’s checking out her nails or claiming who’s her “BFF” on the island, she’s OK with that. She is young and she owns it. You may laugh at her vernacular, but she’s the one who got the ride of a lifetime. Oh, and the last thing she’d like to tell Mr. Probst…